Chapter 2

"My name is George," the man said. "Your grandfather told me about you. The Goblin Gang."

George grinned. "Well, Goblin Gang, I'm sure we'll get along fine."

Gwen, Giana and Grace had given the man the password after they had landed in a large, open space somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. No city, no village, not even a remote house (save George's) or farm was to be seen for many miles. A desolated area, surrounded by mountains, far away from curious eyes.

George was close to forty, though his appearance didn't show that. He looked ten years younger. Smiling broadly, he let the trio to his house, and after some chit-chat, the girls asked about his invention.

"I'll show you," George said. "It is located in my garden. Come!"

The three criminals followed George and soon stood before the result of his work and their late grandfather's investment.

It was a huge portal, entirely made of metal. About 25 feet high,15 feet broad. A number of tubes protruded from it and snaked their way towards a nearby shed, the glass walls of which hinted it was full of electronic equipment. A terminal was also connected with the portal. Lights flashed and little screens showed all kinds of data.

"This is the Archway," George said, waving a hand at the portal. "Now, this is the invention your grandfather invested most of his wealth in. It'll return far more wealth, I tell you."

"How does it work?" Giana asked. She was still skeptic.

"Well, first I must tell you something about physics. Listen. Imagine space like a rubber sheet. A planet, like Earth, like an iron ball. Put the ball on the sheet and it'll make a dent in it. The dent is gravity, a force that influences space. You are still with me?" George said.

The three cousins nodded.

"Gravity also influences time. Time and space are one, interconnected if you will, not two independent things. We speak therefore of the space-time continuum. The moon resolves around the Earth not become gravity works like a rope, swinging the moon around Earth's axis, but because the moon is influenced by the "dent" made by gravity, making it roll around Earth. Yes?"

"Yes," Gwen said. The others nodded again.

"Now, gravity can be manipulated. When it reaches a certain amount, it can cause a "hole" in the rubber sheet, a hole in space and time, and we call that a "wormhole". It connects two different places in time and space, without having to travel there at great cost of time. You can travel to another place in an instant."

"Like in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", Grace said.

"Yes. But that wormhole connected two parts of the Milky Way together. We don't go that far. We stay on Earth. I can manipulate the Archway to create a temporary wormhole anywhere on Earth. And you can travel there."

"And what about being a giant?" Gwen asked.

"Well, because I can manipulate space, I can alter the space your body occupies. I expand the space of your body, and therefore, make you bigger. It is hard to explain," George said, seeing the puzzled looks on the faces of the Goblin Gang, "but trust me, it works."

"So you really think we will be taller?" Grace asked.

"Yes. I prefer to call it bigger. Much bigger. You'll be giants!"

"OK..." Gwen said. She was excited again.

"In short, I can let you enter the Archway as a normal-sized woman, but you'll teleport to whatever place on Earth as a giant! Imagine, the possibilities for robbing! A giant, suddenly coming out of nowhere, being able to steal whatever he or she wants! Or I teleport you right inside a vault! That is what your grandfather was looking for, new ways to improve the art of thievery!"

"Yeah, and than we'll have to live like giants. Make that giantesses," Giana said. "We couldn't spend our money. No, thanks." She didn't like the idea at all. And it was too childish. Giantesses! Really.

"Ah, I forgot. When I take you back, you'll be normal-sized again. The effect is reversible. You'll only be giants, sorry, giantesses, for a short time anyway, you know. You can spend your loot all right."

George grinned at Giana. She looked back with a frown.

"For a short time?" she asked.

"Yes. The energy required to manipulate gravity is not limitless. Like a battery needed to be recharged, I can only teleport you away for a maximum of thirty minutes. Then, you'll be transported back here automatically. And you'll be normal-sized again. Everything you take with you will be reduced in size when you come back, like miniatures, but after another thirty minutes, it'll become normal-sized again as well. So there is nothing to worry about."

George smiled. "Oh, and wear a mask. No one should recognize you...."

"Yes, this isn't our first robbery," Giana said, a little annoyed. She didn't like the idea, nor did she believe it. She was more into computer hacking, sending cleverly programmed Trojans into bank systems to siphon money away. This „Archway" was just science fiction.
She padded her pocket. Giana had brought a gun with her, and if that guy's machine didn't work, if he swindled grandpa, then....

"Now, George continued, "Your grandfather has also given the order to create a "vault" for the loot. Come, I'll take you there. It's in the nearby mountains."

George drove the girls to a mountain side. A huge entrance in its side let towards a cave. It was obviously made artificial, probably with a lot of explosives.

A whole lot.

Inside, the trio saw the hugest cave ever. An entire village could be built inside. It was lit by countless neon lights, showing it's length (about 3 miles as George told them) and width (1,5 mile). The mountain seemed to be hollowed out.

"What is that?" Grace asked.

"Do we have to live here if we're giants?" Gwen asked, more jokingly than serious.

"No, no," George laughed. "This is, as I said, the vault. Here we store our money. Like Scrooge McD, we keep our money and gold here. And other valuables as well. You bring your loot back, empty it in here, and then we'll wait until it regains its normal size. Your grandfather thought of everything..." he concluded.

The girls looked at each other. A cave full of money?

"Yes, we are not talking about a few millions. Did you think you could simply deposit your loot on a bank account? Or wash countless billions of cash? Come on! You'll have to store it somewhere, and only this cave is large enough. Spend it, but not too much at once. That is how its done, your grandpa said." George said as he saw the looks on the trio's faces.

"But now, its time to demonstrate the machine. Yes? OK, let's get started then." George said and clapped his hands. "Who wants first?"